Expectations vs Reality for Windows Phone 8.1

Jazmac

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You must know that I am a USER, not a DEVELOPER. I wouldn't install a work in progress OS with many bugs and a store that doesn't download apps so I can get my hands on 8.1, not to mention all the apps that still needs to be updated to take advantage of it's capabilities. I was hoping that Microsoft would finally go the shut-up-and-ship module that Apple follows, and that this update was already in the hands of important developers and they worked on it with their apps for a while, but sadly, this isn't the case. Microsoft copies Apple in lots of ways, but they always copy them in the bad stuff they do, never in the good ones.

That is one extensive list but for the life of me I don't see how much of what you are talking about is something average smart phone buyers are clamoring to get hold of. In fact, no one I know even mentions those capability. They make calls, read mail, check weather, text their friends, play candy crush and look at FB. That is about it. They don't work for The Verge where they pretend their phones have to double as a desktop computer. These are average smart phone buyers.

You say you want that entire list to know you are up to par. Also something I don't completely believe but I'll take you at your word. Much of that I read in your list are in the "nice to have class" of features. But even for those OS that can do these things, I can bet a fraction of average phone users want any of it or know it even exists. Microsoft built in a good chunk of the things we requested in 8.1 and much of what they are doing at this stage of the game, IMHO, is under the hood for developers.

Microsoft is playing the long game like they always do. They don't build in features like blinking your eyes to change web pages, swiping your hand to move a web page and other gimmicky garbage Sammy did and for what? Showmanship. Nothing more. I know a few with those phones at work and I have never seen anyone use them. In the airports, waiting rooms, wherever I spot these Sammy devices, I have seen NO ONE using them. Its fluff.

Personally 8.1 update is a game changer. Cortana is off to a good start and will only get better as development fleshes out over time. Notification is also something I wanted in this OS. We got it Those core features are what people use. Facebook app written by Facebook is pure folly. Facebook can build or it can be built by another dev. Either way, you get a platform that can run a Facebook app. You should spend time in this ecosystem and not those others. I'll feel so much more complete that what you think about that greener grass you think you see.
 

Ankit Nawlakha

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Ankit Nawlakha

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That is one extensive list but for the life of me I don't see how much of what you are talking about is something average smart phone buyers are clamoring to get hold of. In fact, no one I know even mentions those capability. They make calls, read mail, check weather, text their friends, play candy crush and look at FB. That is about it. They don't work for The Verge where they pretend their phones have to double as a desktop computer. These are average smart phone buyers.

You say you want that entire list to know you are up to par. Also something I don't completely believe but I'll take you at your word. Much of that I read in your list are in the "nice to have class" of features. But even for those OS that can do these things, I can bet a fraction of average phone users want any of it or know it even exists. Microsoft built in a good chunk of the things we requested in 8.1 and much of what they are doing at this stage of the game, IMHO, is under the hood for developers.

Microsoft is playing the long game like they always do. They don't build in features like blinking your eyes to change web pages, swiping your hand to move a web page and other gimmicky garbage Sammy did and for what? Showmanship. Nothing more. I know a few with those phones at work and I have never seen anyone use them. In the airports, waiting rooms, wherever I spot these Sammy devices, I have seen NO ONE using them. Its fluff.

Personally 8.1 update is a game changer. Cortana is off to a good start and will only get better as development fleshes out over time. Notification is also something I wanted in this OS. We got it Those core features are what people use. Facebook app written by Facebook is pure folly. Facebook can build or it can be built by another dev. Either way, you get a platform that can run a Facebook app. You should spend time in this ecosystem and not those others. I'll feel so much more complete that what you think about that greener grass you think you see.

THIS..!! I can file suit against you for stealing my thought(IF that's Possible) LoL..Just Kidding :winktongue: Because this is wat i was thinking ryt now.!
 

rockstarzzz

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Perhaps Windows Phone 8.1 can solve these issues.. Relax..!
Windows Phone 8.1 is still a week away from us.!!
Derz no harm in being Positive.!! :)

There is optimism and then there is reality. As much as I appreciate your optimism, such features wont magically make it into the OS in a week.
 

DreadVenom

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After spending some time reading some of the comments people have written here about 8.1 im left scratching my head and thinking WTF did people want. I for one am stoked with what i have seen from build and even today reveals are popping up that weren't even mentioned at the conference. Remember people build is for devs and not all of them would have had a chance to play with the OS. For me build was the tip of a massive iceberg that MS has planned for its mobile os and i expect some of the things people here a moaning about the os "lacking" will be developed by the talented devs that support the platform. Look at the new lock screen that Rudy and MS developed. Did any of you expect that?? Thought not, just be patient people, this isn't a sprint but a marathon.
 

rockstarzzz

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Then for what reasons laptop is there.editing mail could 've done with windows 8 pc

Sent from my C2305 using WPCentral Forums mobile app

So all iPhone and Android users, heck Blackberry and Symbian AND Nokia X users also carry a laptop with them?

Ah, that makes sense, smartphones aren't capable to edit emails so we all should carry laptops to edit otherwise reply using phone!
 

Arka1412

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Here are some examples of what I expected and leaks confirmed having:

  1. A file picker, similar to the one found in Windows 8.1, with better file management (ability to send and receive files other than pictures and Office documents, with apps ability to access those files and attach/share them within).
  2. Actionable notifications: it was mentioned many times that in the action center, you would be able to interact with notifications, for instance: replying to a text message withing the action center), this is similar to what Android currently offers in this department.
  3. Making a full backup of your phone (similar to Windows 8), a backup that mirrors your phone and restores it completely the way it was, it lays your tiles with apps that aren't even downloaded yet, and whenever you press on one it downloads the app from the store and restores it's data.
  4. A new Facebook app that is designed by Facebook itself.
  5. Changing your default SMS app. No one even knows how this works, but it was promised through leaks but never delivered.
  6. Muting threads in the messaging hub.
  7. No mention of the new Bing search app, similar to what is found in Windows 8, it performs a hero search of popular keys of interest ( a city, an artist, etc..)
  8. Not so much enhancements to the People hub and the built-in Facebook and Twitter integration.
  9. No tab-handling enhancements in IE 11, it's still the same wicked way of handling them.( I read some where that there were enhancements in that regard, and I am not talking about in private tabs or them being included in the multi-tasking pane.
  10. No mention of the USB OTG ability.
  11. No Bluetooth keyboard support.
  12. No data shortcut in the system apps toggles.
  13. Some of the toggles like Wifi isn't even a TOGGLE! It's just a shortcut for the app.
  14. Not so much enhancements to the default Xbox music app (still no scrubbing).
  15. The default media player haven't got all of the tools to make it full featured (there was a screenshot earlier that showed a fully featured media player).
  16. The update was expected to reach phones in June, now with these vague statements, it can hit them somewhere around October!
  17. I expected that since Semantic Zoom API was included, that it would be also available on the Start Screen, but I guess this isn't the case.
  18. No smart dialer, though there is enhancements and speed-dial things, but a smart dialer isn't one of them.
  19. Cortana is a work in progress, through my estimation, it still needs a year to two years before being really usable.
  20. There was a mention that many of the core apps (including the store and the people hub) where changed to being un-related to the core system itself, so even the store can be updated through app-updates. This was meant to enhance the system reliability on those core apps as updating them won't take a year or so with each OS update. There was no mention of that except the Calendar app.
  21. A color picker in themes. Though this may sound stupid, but it shows that there are still some basic stuff that aren't getting done yet. I know you can achieve this now by selecting a background that is a solid color, but why do we have to go this route to do a simple thing that is already there in WP registry. Like COMEON!

​There are also more stuff but I can't remember all of them, I'll keep updating this comment for the things that was suggested through leaks but didn't make it (my full list of needed stuff in 8.1 is far, far bigger than this one).
Thanks man.U just nailed it..I second you in everything you have mentioned..
 

Jazmac

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After spending some time reading some of the comments people have written here about 8.1 im left scratching my head and thinking WTF did people want. I for one am stoked with what i have seen from build and even today reveals are popping up that weren't even mentioned at the conference. Remember people build is for devs and not all of them would have had a chance to play with the OS. For me build was the tip of a massive iceberg that MS has planned for its mobile os and i expect some of the things people here a moaning about the os "lacking" will be developed by the talented devs that support the platform. Look at the new lock screen that Rudy and MS developed. Did any of you expect that?? Thought not, just be patient people, this isn't a sprint but a marathon.

THIS^^
This is why I tend to council those of us on the platform to stay in your lane. If you spend exorbitant amounts of time clutching your iPhone while trying to live in THIS ecosystem your frustration levels will stay high. I'm not trying to develop self-imposed stress coveting what my neighbor has. I'm working with ONE platform and ONE ecosystem. We got 8.1 about to drop and at least a month of fine tuning to work out once we get this installed. Lets get it done first then worry about if Facebook will build a WP app.
 

bsayegh

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What I wanted was pretty simple. A 5 inch version of the 1520 that isn't stuck on a specific provider. The features they added are nifty and appreciated, but many of them don't blow me away.

Cortana is cool, but I probably wont use it much. How often do you actually see people use Siri or Google Now? Like, never? When those things first came out, people thought it was amazing, but not anymore. Its just a gimmick. Cortana is the same. Are you REALLY going to book a flight by telling Cortana to do it, or are you going to scour the web for deals? Are you going to ask Cortana about the weather? How often are you sitting around, thinking about the weather, and just feel so burdened by the effort of opening one of 500 weather apps to find out? If the OS is fluid and fluent enough, you generally don't need to tell your phone to do things with voice command. TellMe has no problem calling people, texting people, or opening apps, and that's all I need it for. Now there is much more complex software behind WPs voice commands, which leaves it open to more issues.

The notification center is great, and I am glad its there, but it pretty much removes a large portion of the need for live tiles. I love the size of the tiles. I love that I can change them and move them around. I love that they flip around and animate and all that stuff. But how many people really use any live tile features beyond reading the start of a recent text? Im glad we have a notification center, even if its far from a new feature to smart phones in general.

Any size tiles? That's cool, but I don't need it. I have absolutely no trouble managing the 3 sizes we have available now, and I don't think many other people do either.

Transparent tiles so you can show your background? Its cool, and I have seen some nifty looking concepts and samples. I cant imagine ill ever take a picture that would serve as a good background for live tiles. The pics I have seen used are generally not that colorful. I will probably use whatever they have installed by default.

In the end, all I want is a 5 inch phone that has all of the features that a Windows Phone can have, and is relatively future proof. The 930/Icon does not qualify. They are both lacking features available on the 1520. I would gladly shell out $300 on contract for an amazing WP that doesn't have a bunch of glaring omissions and isn't 6 inches tall. I am happy with 8.1 as it has been described, as long as I have a great piece of hardware to compliment it.

MS needs to get on a faster release cycle. I will never understand why they (or any OS provider) insist on massive updates once every 18 months. How about one small update every 4 - 6 months, and you can still save the big changes for major releases.
 

bsayegh

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Oh I just thought of something that needs to be standard on all WP devices that should be included in 8.1 but it isn't. Text search in IE. You should be able to swipe a certain way or hit a button on the screen that brings up a search window and lets you search for text in a document. Im not sure if other devices or browsers support this, but IE should. It should be standard. There is no reason not to include it.
 

NikCR7

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Nope, I still think its a clutterfcuk.

I really don't care what you think nor I care what Clutterfcuk means. You might be a moderator or 24/7 on WPcentral, I still think this concept of Windows Phone should be considered by Microsoft and the Joe Belfiore team.
 

rockstarzzz

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I really don't care what you think nor I care what Clutterfcuk means. You might be a moderator or 24/7 on WPcentral, I still think this concept of Windows Phone should be considered by Microsoft and the Joe Belfiore team.
Of course, you shouldn't care what I think! That's the last thing I would want someone to do, heck even I don't care what I think! Yes, I am the moderator and I am on WPC 24/7 too, yeah I don't have a life either. But that doesn't change the fact that all this concept is - by all means a clutter. I would be glad to see Joe consider this for you and probably vote for it for all I care, if you wanted me to. But WP has a breathing room on its tiles, around the tiles. We aren't lacking SO much in functionality that we literally need to suffocate the OS. Also, by repeatedly shoving this link in threads where people are talking about functionality of WP all you are doing is borderline spamming. If you want Joe to see what you think, create a thread here, put that link up, take ownership of that creation, get votes from the community and get heard - Feature Suggestions: Hot (48725 ideas) – Feature Suggestions for Windows Phone
 

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